Last Call For Views

Budget Town Meeting Is Tuesday

CROMWELL — The chairman of the board of finance said it's been the quietest budget season ever, but residents have one more chance to make their feelings known.

Though there may be some discussion, Tuesday's town meeting on the town and school budgets will not end in a vote. The board of selectmen has already agreed to send the spending plans to a town-wide referendum.

The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. at the Cromwell Middle School.

Of the total $35.69 million spending plan, the general government budget makes up $11.53 million; the board of education budget is $20.78 million and debt service is $3.37 million. The three budgets will be voted on separately in the referendum.

Paul Beaulieu, chairman of the finance board, is not expecting much of a turnout at Tuesday's meeting. Budgets can be voted on at the annual town meeting, but by that time, it's usually been slated for a referendum either by petition or the selectmen's order.

So even in more contentious budget seasons, he said, it's rare for more than a small crowd to show up.

``I've never seen one where you get more than 12 or 15 people,'' he said.

And, so far, this has been the least contentious budget season that Beaulieu can remember in his 14 years on the finance board.

``For the most part, this budget process has been under everybody's radar,'' he said.

Largely accounting for the unusual tranquility is that despite a 7 percent increase in spending, finance officials have said the tax rate won't go up by more than .75 mills. The current tax rate is 29 mills, or $29 in taxes for every $1,000 of assessed property value. Town officials have said the slight increase is due mainly to greater revenue from growth in the grand list and improvements in tax collection.